Combination desktop accessory and gag gift

ABSTRACT

A combination desktop accessory and caricature gag gift unit with a base containing functional desktop items such as a tape dispenser, paperclip holder, ashtray, etc. and at least one caricature figurine mounted on the base where the figurine represents some aspect of life or of an occupation or profession. Examples might be a golfer, compulsive shopper, chair or coach potato, doctor, dentist, etc. The base can rotate to allow easy access to the accessories, and it can contain further gag items. An optional voice unit can make comments related to the stereotype or caricature or could crack related jokes or make any other sounds.

This is a continuation of co-pending application Ser. No. 10/909,750filed Aug. 1, 2004 which was related to, and claimed priority from, U.S.Provisional application No. 60/493,055 filed Aug. 6, 2003. Applications60/493,055 and Ser. No. 10/909,750 are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the fields of gag gifts or items anddesk accessories and more particularly to a caricature gag gift thatalso performs a useful function as a desktop accessory.

2. Description of the Prior Art

It is known in the art to give gag gifts to friends. Such gifts usuallyserve no useful purpose, but rather simple represent some aspect of lifethat invokes a humorous response from the recipient.

Caricatures and figurines are sometimes humorous representations of somecharacteristic of a person or stereotype. Such a gift (or item bought torepresent a humorous aspect of the buyer's own life), once looked at isusually stuffed away somewhere and then forgotten (possibly found againin house cleaning, but then soon again stored and forgotten).

What is badly needed are caricature gifts that represent differentstereotypes, personalities, occupations, hobbies, etc. that also servesome useful purpose so that they will not be simply stored away afterbeing laughed at the first time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention includes a desktop accessory that can hold itemslike paperclips, pencils, ashtray, tape dispenser as well as acaricature figurine the represents a humorous aspect of a person'scharacter, occupation, hobby, sport, etc. The figurine can optionallytalk possibly cracking jokes related to the subject matter.

As examples of the present invention consider caricatures of a personaltrainer, a couch potato, a compulsive shopper, a golfer, a patentattorney, a doctor, a musician, a dentist and on and on including anyaspect of life or work.

The present invention can be constructed on a base which providessupport and holds the functional equipment (as well as possibly some ofthe gag material) with at least one figurine mounted on the base. Thebase can also hold batteries and a speaker for talking models as well asa button to activate the voice. The base can optionally rotate.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a golfer embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a different embodiment.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a base with the figurine removed.

FIG. 4 shows a golfer figurine.

FIG. 5 shows a top view of a base.

FIG. 6 shows a side view of a base.

It should be noted that the figures are presented solely to illustratethe concepts of the present invention. The scope of the presentinvention is not limited to the figures.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a combination of one or more caricaturefigurines mounted on a functional base. FIG. 1 shows an example of thepresent invention. In this case, a golfer kicking the ball into the holewith his right foot rather than putting it in. FIG. 2 shows a differentembodiment of a golfer gift. The golfer 1 can be seen in FIGS. 1-2 as afunny caricature, that can bring laughter to a person who has suchtraits in real life. While the center mounting of a figurine is thepreferred mounting position, it is within the scope of the presentinvention to mount the figurine anywhere on the base and to also havemultiple figurines on the same base.

FIG. 2 also shows a base 2 that contains both utility and gag items ormarkings. The utility items and gag aspects of the present invention canbe combined. Various combinations of utility desktop items can be placedon the base 2 such as a tape dispenser 5 (space shown), an ashtray 4 orother compartment, and slots 3 for paperclips and other useful items.

One example of the present invention could contain a figurine of a“compulsive shopper” containing a store shelf that can also be anashtray. Moving clockwise, can be an up escalator, a display clipholder, a down escalator, a credit card voice activation button, variousads and coupons, and a credit card/money pile tape dispenser.

The figurine 1 is normally mounted in the center as shown in FIGS. 1-2;however, it is possible to mount the figurine anywhere on the base orhave multiple figurines. The base shown in FIG. 2 is simply an exampleof the present invention. Any shape base with any combination of gag orfunctional desktop items is within the scope of the present invention.

Any type of figurine is within the scope of the present invention: apersonal trainer holding a clipboard and a bowl of fruit possiblysitting on a throne giving orders to everyone, a chair potato slouchedin a chair (or coach) with a clutter of newspapers, a paperback book onthe floor and barefooted (or in socks), different golfers with differentpersonality characteristics, etc.

FIG. 3 shows the base from FIG. 2 that can be adapted for any type offigurine. It contains generic places for an ashtray 4, a tape dispenser5, a paperclip holder 7, empty generic trays 3 and other desktop utilitydevices. A utility can for holding pencils, pens and/or scissors (asshown in FIG. 1) can also be added.

FIG. 4 shows a particular figurine of a golfer.

FIG. 5 shows a top view of a base that is designed to lift off and ontoa foot that allows the entire unit to rotate. Rotation, while optional,makes the entire desktop array very useful allowing access to all thetrays and items with a single finger. Again one sees a place for acaricature tape dispenser 5, ashtray 4, utility cup 7 and trays 3. Theutility cup 7 can hold pens, pencils, scissors, etc. as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 shows a side view of a loaded base. Here a tape dispenser 5 and autility cup 7 as well as generic trays 3 can be seen.

One optional aspect of the present invention is a voice presentationwhere the user can push a button, and the figurine (or unit) talks,sings, or cracks a joke. For example, the golfer could yell “Fore”, thecompulsive shopper could say “Bargains, bargains”, or “So much to shop,so little time” or any other funny representative statement or joke. Amusician could play a few bars of Beethoven or Mozart.

The idea of the present invention is to create the perfect gift for aparticular person who knows that it represents them. The voice mechanismcould be hidden in the base and work with small batteries, a tape playeror flash ROM, and a small loudspeaker. A button could be hiddensomewhere on the top of the base to activate the voice. This setup canbe seen in FIG. 1 where the voice activation button is in the center ofthe card holder, and the voice unit is hidden in the tape dispenser orelsewhere. The voice unit could also be hidden under the figurine.

The base and figurines can be made from any material and can be colored(they can be painted or made from colored material) or plain. Thepreferred material is plastic since it is easy to mold; however, anymaterial is possible including, but not limited to, glass, metal, woodas well as plastic. The preferred way to manufacture the presentinvention is by molding generic plastic bases and then separatelymolding particular figurines and support pieces that will be attached tothe base. It should however be recognized that it is possible to mold anentire unit from one mold if desired. The method of using a generic basehas the advantage that the gag part of the units can be modified as newideas come along without changing the basic design of the base. Thisresults in tremendous cost savings in manufacture since new base moldsare not required for each new unit.

It is also possible to place humorous titles on the units so that thecharacters are immediately recognizable. For example, the titlesTrainer, Chair Potato, Compulsive Shopper, Golf Pro, etc. could apply.The embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-2 would probably be called somethinglike “Golfer”. It should be noted that accessory devices like a tapedispenser can be gag-related to the figurine. For example, for thegolfer of FIGS. 1-2, the tape dispenser can be shaped like a golfingshoe. For a compulsive shopper, the tape dispenser can be shaped like ashopping basket. The utility provided for pencils, pens, scissors, etc.can also be gag-related. For example, for the golfer figurine, theutility can be shaped like a golf bag. For the compulsive shopper, theutility can be shaped like a shopping bag, etc.

Any possible figurines can be used depicting any walk or trait in life.A few examples are: golfer, compulsive shopper, chair potato, lawyer,doctor, teacher, trainer, policeman, fireman, politician, military,driver, fisherman, tour director, tennis player and any other possiblejob, profession or trait.

Numerous examples, figures and descriptions have been presented to aidin understanding the present invention. One skilled in the art willrealize that numerous variations and changes are possible that arewithin the scope of the present invention.

1. A combination gag gift and desktop accessory comprising: a base; aplurality of desktop utility devices attached to said base; at least onecaricature figurine also attached to said base, said figurine mocking atleast one stereotype or character trait.
 2. The gag gift and desktopaccessory of claim 1 further comprising a voice presentation means forproviding an audio gag message.
 3. The gag gift and desktop accessory ofclaim 1 wherein said base rotates.
 4. The gag gift and desktop accessoryof claim 1 wherein said base is made of moldable material.
 5. The gaggift and desktop accessory of claim 1 wherein said utility devices arechosen from the group containing an ashtray, a paperclip holder, autility can and a tape dispenser.
 6. The gag gift and desktop accessoryof claim 1 wherein said base also contains gag representations.
 7. Acombination gag gift and desktop accessory comprising: a base; aplurality of desktop utility devices attached to said base including atleast a tape dispenser and a utility can; at least one caricaturefigurine also attached to said base unit, said figurine mocking at leastone stereotype or character trait.
 8. The combination gag gift anddesktop accessory of claim 7 further comprising an ashtray.
 9. Thecombination gag gift and desktop accessory of claim 7 further comprisingutility trays.
 10. The combination gag gift and desktop accessory ofclaim 7 wherein said tape dispenser is gag related to said figurine. 11.The combination gag gift and desktop accessory of claim 7 wherein thefiguring is chosen from the group containing a golfer, compulsiveshopper, chair potato, lawyer, doctor, teacher, trainer, policeman,fireman, politician, military, driver, fisherman, tour director andtennis player.
 12. A method of providing a useful desktop accessory thatmocks a trait of life comprising: providing a base to receive usefuldesktop devices; attaching a plurality of useful desktop utility deviceson said base; placing a gag figurine on said base, said gag figuringmocking a personality trait.
 13. The method of claim 12 wherein at leastsome of said desktop devices are chosen from the group containing a tapedispenser, utility can, ashtray and paper clip holder.
 14. The method ofclaim 12 wherein said gag figurine is chosen from the group containing:golfer, compulsive shopper, chair potato, lawyer, doctor, teacher,trainer, policeman, fireman, politician, military, driver, fisherman,tour director and tennis player.
 15. The method of claim 12 wherein saidbase rotates for easy access to said desktop utility devices.
 16. Themethod of claim 12 wherein said base is plastic or resin.
 17. The methodof claim 12 wherein said base is molded.
 18. The method of claim 12wherein said figurine is painted.
 19. The method of claim 12 wherein atleast one of said desktop utility devices are gag related to saidfigurine.
 20. The method of claim 12 wherein said figurine is centeredon said base.